When acclaimed Australia author Christos Tsiolkas was invited to give the 2025 Ray Mathew Lecture at the National Library of Australia, he had in mind what he wanted to say, as difficult as it was.
Then he got a rage-filled message from a longtime friend.
How did Christos respond?
Is fence-sitting an indulgence in an ethically troubled, divisive, dislocated world?
Or, is 'speaking across the fence' something writers and other creatives can offer us?
"We're urged at all times — and for every occasion — to take a position. Yet is there a utility, both practical and ethical, in taking a breath, a pause, and refusing to land definitively on a stance?" — Christos Tsiolkas
Speaker
Christos Tsiolkas
Author of The Slap, The In Between, Barracuda, Damascus
Playwright and screenwriter
Further information
More about the annual Ray Mathew Lecture, including the transcript and video of the 2025 lecture
Credits
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In times of political and social division, can writers play a unique role in building unity?